1. Field
The present invention relates to an antibody reagent for detecting dissecting aortic aneurysm (recently also called aortic dissection) which comprises an antibody to a smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, and use of the antibody reagent.
2. Description of Related Art
Dissecting aortic aneurysm is a disease with severe chest pains and is caused by disruption of the aortic media by blood entering through a laceration of the luminal vascular wall. Dissecting aortic aneurysm is caused in aorta in most cases but is caused also in branches in some cases. As causes for the disease, there are suggested not only the degeneration and weakening of the intima (e.g. cystic medionecrosis and arterio-sclerosis) but also the extension of aorta, hypertension, etc.
A typical example of disease with chest pains is acute myocardial infarction. Acute myocardial infarction may be diagnosed without much difficulty through electrocardiograph change or biochemical blood testing. By contrast, in the case of dissecting aortic aneurysm, a specific change is hardly observed in an electrocardiograph or blood testing in spite of the high lethality of this disease. Therefore, diagnosis of this disease requires extreme care.
As a method for diagnosis of dissecting aortic aneurysm, echo examination, CT (X-rays computed tomography), DSA (digital subtraction angiography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), etc. have been attempted and have produced rather good results (Common Disease Series 4: Angina Pectoris.multidot.Myocardial Infarction, pp. 310-313, Nankodo K. K.). All of these methods, however, require special equipment, and hence are not always satisfactory as a method for use in an urgent examination wherein the method is required to be always able to be carried out anywhere.
Accordingly, the present invention is mainly intended to provide a method for detecting dissecting aortic aneurysm which is applicable to an urgent examination, and a reagent for use in the method.